Residents along the Muskegon River south of Croton were clearing furniture, lifting cots and preparing to leave as the river climbed under a flood warning that the National Weather Service said could bring conditions worse than the 2018 flood. The river is expected to crest Friday to Saturday, and by Wednesday afternoon water at the boat launch had risen sharply from the day before.
Hyla Kooiman, whose family has owned the Newaygo-area property since 1940, said the river was already creeping toward the bank as she and Merle Carpenter moved items to higher ground inside their home. “We got tables, we put a couch up on the table,” she said. “That little row of trees… that's the edge of where the river should be,” she said, pointing to the line of trees near the water. “The darker color tree over there is right on the edge of the bank.”
Jason Nurmi said he began clearing out his home on Tuesday after the river reached about 13.5 feet, just shy of the 14.5 feet he said would put the water at his foundation. The forecast called for 16.5 feet, which he said would leave about a foot of water inside his house. “The closets have been completely removed,” he said, along with “cots, all of the furniture, chairs, the dining room sets.”
Nurmi said the threat is familiar, but no less disruptive. “This will be the fourth time we've had to kind of do the evacuation,” he said, adding, “Since 2017.” He said the river was not at this level in 2018, but that this year’s rise is already shaping up to be worse. “So I anticipate we're going to have more damage this year, and flooding,” he said. With the crest still ahead and standing water likely if the forecast holds, the immediate task for families along the river is not whether to prepare, but how quickly they can get out before the water does the damage for them.
